The Watercress Line in Hampshire will be the first heritage railway in the country to take a Class 150 Sprinter train into its running fleet.
This second-generation ‘Sprinter’ Diesel Multiple Unit – with the engines and seating all within one structure – dates back to 1987 and has been donated by the leasing company Porterbrook.
The unit (150231) is currently starring at a huge gathering of historic locomotives and trains at ‘The Greatest Gathering’ in Derby, a sell-out ‘Railway 200’ celebration of railway heritage, gathering rolling stock through the ages from the National Railway Museum’s Locomotion No1 to the latest high-speed trains.
The Greatest Gathering team has arranged its transformation back into the original 1987 external livery marking the start of this type as a heritage multiple unit and filling a gap in their timeline.
Class 150 history
By the beginning of the 1980s British Rail started to replace its ageing fleet of first-generation Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs), which were built in the late 1950s and 1960s, as the cost of extensive refurbishment was considered uneconomical.
For the second-generation, British Rail looked at two styles of trains one being the lightweight four wheeled railbus style ‘Pacer’ type using predominantly bus technology and the second was a more substantial DMU that could operate longer distance services using bogie coaches. The latter were branded as the ‘Sprinters’, these consisted of Classes 150, 153, 155, 156 and 158. The biggest obvious change was the move away from the traditional ‘slam doors’ to the now common power sliding doors.
Design
The Class 150 units were built at York works between 1984 and 1987 by British Rail Engineering Ltd., using the same steel bodyshell as the Southern Regions Class 455 EMUs, with a total of 137 units constructed. Each coach is equipped with a six cylinder 286 hp Cummins 4-stroke diesel engine, driving a Voith transmission, giving the units a top speed of 75 mph.
The Class 150s were built into three specific bathes which became sub classes (150/0, 150/1 & 150/2), with the 150/2s standing out by having end gangways for use on longer distance services where two units could be coupled together.
Class 150s are still in use with Transport for Wales, Northen Trains and First Great Western, though they are being withdrawn as replacements enter service.
Service
150231 was delivered new to Newton Heath depot, Manchester in February 1987, passing to Regional Railways Central in 1992 under BR’s sectorisation. 1994 saw 150231 transferred to BR Anglia (Norwich) for regional services, and in September of 1994 the unit was named ‘King Edmund’ at Bury St. Edmunds station. Apart from a spell with Silverlink Trains in April 2004, the unit remained at Norwich until May 2005 when it moved initially to Central Trains and then onto Arriva Trains Wales in November 2007.
150231’s last working was on Wednesday 9 July 2025 when it worked 2V30 18:35 Shrewsbury to Swansea and then empty stock 5V30 23:03 Swansea to Cardiff Canton Depot. Ironically the unit then returned to Swansea (Landore Depot) and subsequently ran 5M57 08:44 Landore to Derby Litchurch Lane to take part in the Railway 200 ‘Greatest Gathering’ celebration, prior to starting its next chapter becoming the first of its class in preservation.
Ironically, if the railway hadn’t closed in 1973, the ‘Hampshire Units’ would have eventually been replaced with more modern traction which could have been a Class 150. The unit will now plug a vital gap in the Watercress Line service, offering an earlier departure from Alton than the current 11.50 steam service.
Watercress Line CEO Rebecca Dalley said:
“Since our previous multiple unit, the Class 205 ‘Hampshire Unit’ came out of service in 2004, we have been looking out for an opportunity to fill in the service for our visitors from the Alton and London end of the Watercress Line. We hope to start restoration of the 1959 ‘Hampshire Unit’ to be our mainstay for the Alton service, with this Class 150 in support.”
Alton resident and Watercress Line Heritage Railway Trustee Jonathan Morris said:
“This heritage multiple unit is a first for the Watercress Line and for the heritage railway community. It’s extraordinary to think that more time has elapsed since the 150 came into service than the time between our flagship steam locomotive ‘Canadian Pacific’ being built during the war and the Watercress Line being reopened in 1977.
My young children will benefit today from a service that meets the needs of families and local residents in the Alton area, and in the future from the preservation of such a complete example of this class of locomotive. We are hugely grateful to Porterbrook for their donation and to the Greatest Gathering organisers for recreating its original livery.”
Stefan Rose, Chief Investment Officer at Porterbrook, said:
“The Watercress Line is a fitting new home for this Class 150 unit that has served communities reliably for decades. We are proud that this train will continue to be enjoyed by the public and play a role in educating future generations about the UK’s railway heritage.”
The Class 150 will arrive at The Watercress Line for operational induction and training at the end of the summer holidays and will go into service later in the year.
